Have you ever played with a kaleidoscope? These toys can mesmerize and amaze children for hours, as they peer through the eyepiece to see ever-changing patterns of beautiful colors and shifting images.

But what exactly is a kaleidoscope? Kaleidoscopes look a little bit like a small telescope that you can hold in your hands. One end has a hole you can look into. The other end has translucent paper or other material that lets light in.

Inside the kaleidoscope, there are mirrors arranged in a circle, as well as a variety of colorful objects, like beads, pebbles or small pieces of glass, that are free to move around. As you look through the viewer and rotate the outside of the kaleidoscope, the mirrors reflect the movement of the small objects to create fascinating visual images that change with each movement.

Scottish inventor Sir David Brewster created the kaleidoscope in 1815 when he was doing experiments on light polarization. He came up with the name “kaleidoscope" by combining several Greek words that meant “observer of beautiful forms."

The key to a kaleidoscope's beautiful patterns and images is the concept of multiple reflections. Using several mirrors attached at specific angles, unique duplicate images of whatever objects are inside the kaleidoscope can be created as a colorful pattern.

At first, Brewster intended his creation to be used as a scientific tool. It became very popular as a toy, though. In 1817, Brewster sold over 200,000 kaleidoscopes in London and Paris in just three months!

Brewster thought he would likely become wealthy as a result of his invention. However, a fault in his application for a patent for his invention allowed others to copy his invention. Today, kaleidoscopes can be made from just about any type of material, from plastic and cardboard to wood, steel, brass and even stained glass.

Wonder Words (9)

Wonder What's Next?

Tomorrow’s Wonder of the Day is just hanging around waiting for you to read it!

Try It Out

Ready to play with a virtual kaleidoscope? Just jump online and click through to the Online Kaleidoscope. At the main menu, click on “Free Play" and have fun placing shapes into the circle on the right and then watching the effects created in the circle on the left.

If you're up for a challenge, you can also try to make your very own homemade kaleidoscope. Depending upon how much of a challenge you want, there are several ways to make your own kaleidoscope. You will definitely need the help of an adult.

Check out the tutorials listed below and decide upon which one you think would be the most fun to make. Then grab whatever supplies you need and get crafty!

Wonderopolis

YuGIOHNinja!!!!

May 27, 2012

On my nintendo dsi XL, there is a thing on the camera called mirror. It's kind of like a kaliedoscope because it can be triangular, square, or dual imaging [shows the object on both sides]. IT'S SO EPIC!!!!
-YuGiOhNinja!!!!
You guys should do a wonder of the day about yugioh!!!!! It's a show, look it up...
But type it like this
yu-gi-oh
Just the regular english,
not the Japanese or Abridged.

Wonderopolis

May 27, 2012

Thanks for sharing about that cool camera effect on your hand-held video game console, YuGiOhNinja! It sounds really FUN to WONDER about all the different types of pictures you could take and make them look like they came from a kaleidoscope! :-)

Adam

Wonderopolis

May 20, 2012

Monkeys with books would be something really FUN to WONDER about, Adam! Here's another MONKEY-related Wonder we think you might enjoy: Wonder #566 - Why Is It So Fun To Monkey Around? http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-it-so-fun-to-monkey-around/. :-)

Adam

Wonderopolis

May 20, 2012

Thanks for letting us know what you had for dinner, Adam! We're glad you stopped by today's Wonder to share that! Speaking of spaghetti...here's a YUMMY Wonder about pasta for you to explore: Wonder #95 - Why Does Pasta Come in So Many Shapes? http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-does-pasta-come-in-so-many-shapes/. :-)

Mackenzie

Wonderopolis

May 19, 2012

It's OK if you don't have a guess about tomorrow's Wonder, Mackenzie...sometimes it's just as much fun to be totally surprised! We hope you'll visit Wonderopolis again tomorrow to learn some more neat things with us! :-)

Wonderopolis

alex

Wonderopolis

May 19, 2012

That's a GREAT guess for tomorrow's Wonder, Alex! We can't wait to visit Wonderopolis tomorrow to see if your guess is correct! Here is a link to all of our MATH-focused Wonders (there is LOTS to discover about numbers in Wonderopolis): http://wonderopolis.org/category/math/. :-)

Wonderopolis

Wonderopolis

May 19, 2012

We're super sorry to hear that your kaleidoscope got destroyed, Caelah! We bet you would have a LOT of fun making another one yourself! You can learn how by clicking on the links in the "Try it out!" section of today's Wonder! :-)

Preston

Wonderopolis

May 19, 2012

It ROCKS that you enjoyed today's Wonder, Preston...THANKS for letting us know! We really like your guess for tomorrow's Wonder, too! Here are some AWESOME Wonders about BUGS that we think you will enjoy: http://wonderopolis.org/category/insects/. Happy WONDERing! :-)

jada

Wonderopolis

May 19, 2012

Thanks for sharing that you have a kaleidoscope and what it's like when you look through it, Jada! We enjoy when our Wonder Friends (like YOU!) share their personal connections to our Wonders of the Day! :-)

avril

Wonderopolis

May 19, 2012

Hi, Grace and Avril! We think it's SO COOL that you guys were learning together in Wonderopolis today! Thanks for leaving us this comment and thanks for letting us know you liked the video for this Wonder of the Day®! :-)

avril

Wonderopolis

May 19, 2012

We've never seen a black-and-white kaleidoscope, Avril, but we think that would be REALLY cool! You can check out the links (colorful text) in today's Wonder to learn how kaleidoscopes are made and even how to make one yourself! :-)

TJ

May 19, 2012

Dear Wonderopolis,
I loved today's wonder! I think tomorrow's wonder of the day is about reading.
Remember back on wonder of the day #588 - How many ways can you say mom? I thought wonder of the day #589 was about flowers and I was really close. Wonder of the day #589 was How do seeds sprout?
I saw Samuel's comment and he posted it 1 minute before this one.
TJ

Wonderopolis

May 19, 2012

Happy Saturday, TJ! We think you were really close with your guess for Wonder #588, too! If you think about it, some seeds DO sprout into flower plants, so you were SUPER, SUPER close! We're proud of you! :-)